SoS Kerry: "Americans have the right to be stupid"

"As a country, as a society, we live and breathe the idea of religious freedom and religious tolerance, whatever the religion, and political freedom and political tolerance, whatever the point of view," Kerry told the students in Berlin, the second stop on his inaugural trip as secretary of state.
(snip)

"The reason is, that's freedom, freedom of speech. In America you have a right to be stupid - if you want to be," he said, prompting laughter. "And you have a right to be disconnected to somebody else if you want to be.

"And we tolerate it. We somehow make it through that. Now, I think that's a virtue. I think that's something worth fighting for," he added. "The important thing is to have the tolerance to say, you know, you can have a different point of view."

7. Yep.

If this coming from anyone else, it would be fine and dandy, but since our SOS said it, it has hit a raw nerve. Like you and others, didn't find anything wrong with what he said. It needs to be out there.

The second comment was how me feels about everything from the confirmation hearings to the Hubris documentary. It is just a mess.

8. ... he should have qualified that ...

"In America you have a right to be stupid - if you want to be..." ""And, by choosing to be purposely stupid, you have no right to whine when we point your stupidity out for you & everyone else to see (Faux Snooze) cough cough".

10. Sure you have the right to be stupid.

But what's changed in this country is that stupid people think their opinions should have the same weight and consideration as the knowledge of experts. In other words, your ignorance = my expertise. That goes right along with the media treating every issue as if there are two valid sides to it. When more often one side is right and the other is wrong.